McNally Jackson

This is the first bookstore I discovered in New York, and when I was still a stranger here, it was kind of my second home.

Here (like in every American bookstore) you can sit and read for hours. All the books, all the magazines are here and the salespeople are adorable. There are small chairs in the store, but the best thing is to go the the bookstore café and get a scone. From there, you’ll have the best view on Prince Street, one of the most hipster loaded streets I know :)

I love this bookshop and for me it was also the first bookshop I visited whilst I lived in NYC. I have to agree with you about the staff and also sitting in café, street/people watching. It also has great reading events. :-)

It is exciting to see how much you enjoy this bookstore! I used to visit a bookstore in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada called McNally Robinson (http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/about#.UKUvnNf554M) and it was one of my favourite places. I knew it had a few sister stores and now know that McNally Jackson in NY is one of them.

Bookstores and libraries are so special. I am 25, and I am sad that so many of my friends don’t care for bookstores. The best ones are ones that have mostly used books and a few old, fat cats wandering around!

yay~ good to know! now i know where to go when i’m in new york and just want to settle down with a light read.
I’m sad that so many bookstores in LA seems to be closing down. Nooks and tablets are taking over! :(

I wish we have something like this in Guangzhou or at least in HK , but even so it will be to crowded. In US i use to really like one in Baltimore , i forget the name but the view was so beautiful and the place so peaceful. I love books so much !

I started reading books by Rumer Godden, British, this last year. They are terrific. Black Narcissus is a total classic. Her characters always have something so surprising and shocking about them. Her memoirs are fascinating — especially the first one.

Of course, To Kill a Mockingbird. One of the best of all times. Just finished DV by Diana Vreeland and loved it; also The Fall about 1960s Paris fashion. Thanks Garance for the tip on those two.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wall, her memoir. So poignant. A great read.

Rain of Gold and all the books by Victor Villasenor. Every time I start to complain about something, I think of what his grandmother went through in the Mexican Revolution. Fascinating look into Mexican-American life in California. Not at all what you might expect. His memoir , Burro Genius, about being a dyslexic kid in the 1950s and beaten bloody by teachers for speaking Spanish, even though his father was wealthy at the time, shows how far we’ve come.

Waiting to find some contemporary novels that knock my socks off. Memoirs and biographies seem more passionate to me these days. I will try some of the ones recommended. Thank you everyone and Alex.